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Radio frequency identification (RFID) implants can trigger malignant tumors in animals, according to mice studies cited by the Associated Press over the weekend. The report alleges that the Food and Drug Administration as well as the manufacturer were aware of the cancer-causing potential of these devices when they were approved in 2004.
An RFID tag is basically a microchip combined with an antenna in a compact package and is enabled to pick up signals from an RFID reader or scanner and then return the signal. These devices were touted to be innovative technologies that would allow medical records to be stored inside a person and accessed whenever and wherever needed. Additionally it was also thought that the RFID devices would allow medical professionals to track Alzheimer's patients in case they got lost.
However the AP report now suggests that these devices can trigger cancer of a malignant nature in animals. The report also suggested that VeriChip, which manufactures these devices as well as the FDA, chose to ignore series of veterinary and toxicology studies citing the malignant tumor-causing potential of RFID devices.
At the time of approval of RFID for human use Tommy Thompson was at the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services. The AP report says that five months later Thompson became a board member of VeriChip Corp. and Applied Digital Solutions.
A report by the American Medical Association also endorsed the benefits of RFID devices, but did not question their health effects nor did the report cite the animal studies. In the 10 years from 1996 and 2006 several animal studies were published in journals which cited the tumor-causing potential of RFID s in animals.
In 1996 Keith Johnson at the Dow Chemical Co. in Midland, Michigan conducted a study which found that chip implants had "induced" malignant tumors in some lab mice and rats. Dr Johnson said the implants were the main cause of these tumors.
In 1997 a German study found that 4,000 RFID implanted mice developed tumors called as "sarcomas". These are malignant tumors of the connective tissue like muscle. The German team concluded that RFIDs triggered these tumors.
In the following year microchip implants were implicate din the tumors caused to 177 mice in a Ridgefield study.
Last year a French study found that 4.1 per cent of mice with microchip implants developed cancers.
Experts said these studies were conducted in mice in whom it is easy to cause tumors. However they added that more studies were needed to confirm the alleged effects of these devices in humans.
According to VeriChip Corp, 2,000 RFIDs have been implanted in humans. The company says 45 million Americans are eligible to be microchipped.
In response to the AP report, the company said its devices were safe. "We stand by our implantable products which have been approved by the FDA and/or other U.S. regulatory authorities," said Scott Silverman, VeriChip Corp. chairman and chief executive officer.
On Good Morning America he reiterated his comments and added that his company had " a corporate responsibility to review these studies, to look at other studies, to do new studies if necessary, and do what it appropriate after reviewing all of the information in all regards, and we intend to do this."
According to Wikipedia, a RFID tag consists of two main parts, "One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a (RF) signal and can also be used for other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal."
It is the transponder that is under the scanner of the animal studies. In humans though the effect of these devices is not all that clear.
British professor of cybernetics Kevin Warwick was the first person to implant a chip into his arm in 1998. In 2004 the FDA approved the use of RFID implants in humans. However just after this approval anti-RFID activists Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre discovered a letter that warned about the health risks of these devices, which included adverse tissue reaction, failure of implanted transponder, electrical hazards and magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] incompatibility.
Despite this many hospitals are advocating the use of RFID implants. Reacting to the current report the FDA said there was no currently cause to investigate it.
So what must consumers do? Well, the need of the hour is to prove that RFID devices are safe for human use. If that happens then the medical fraternity as well as patients stand to benefit, else as the above study says the market for these devices is bound to collapse.
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